As the world is still in mourning over the death of David Bowie, footage has emerged of Bowie mourning the death of another before him – his friend, and Beatles superstar, John Lennon.
In a newly uncovered video (thank you, Reddit,) we see Bowie performing an absolutely heartbreaking cover of Lennon’s peace anthem Imagine, on the anniversary of his assassination (December 8.)
The clip begins with Bowie talking about his camaraderie with the late Beatle. He details how Lennon jokingly described Bowie’s music as “rock ‘n roll with lipstick on,” before sharing a touching anecdote of the last time the pair were ever together. He spoke about how they visited a store in a Hong Kong market, and that he asked Lennon to don a replica Beatles jacket in order for him to snap a photo. “I’ve still got the photograph. The jacket doesn’t fit properly, it looks like John had outgrown it.”
“On this day, December the eighth, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his New York apartment,” he laments, before launching into the universally beloved song.
This is a powerful moment in musical history. As the world wipes away the tears we’ve shed for Bowie, it’s beautiful to look back on Bowie doing exactly the same for yet another musical legend.
Rest in peace John Lennon (1940 – 1980) and David Bowie (1947 – 2016.)
Read our tribute to David Bowie here.